Drive Me Crazy
by Vivinette
Summary: Padma Patil is studious and reserved, and George Weasley is well...
1. Closet Duty

Closet Duty

Padma had always thought that she and George had a rode a funny road to a serious relationship. They seemed opposite to each other in a lot of ways, her being very studious and reserved and him being very outgoing and prankish. They were both twins, but that seemed like the only thing they had in common.

In fact, sometimes Padma really wonders how it all even got started.

And then she remembers how they were both sentenced to a horrible punishment one fateful day at school...


	2. Chapter 1

"But Professor!" Padma groaned, "It wasn't my fault! That stinking Weasley twin did it! I had nothing to do with it!"

Snape stared at her apathetically, his features still and unmoving, like a darkly painted statue.

"Tell me Patil," he began monotonously, "do I look as if I care?"

"But—"

"Enough of your incessant babbling," said Snape, "you know I always thought you were a fair and well-behaved pupil, but I've long been used to being disappointed by my students. This mess will take days to clean up. Do you know how many delicate and destructive potions you've spilled? You will diligently scrub every crack, corner, and curve of this closet until it's so clean, it _sparkles. _Do you understand?"

"Professor I—"

"Do you _understand?_"

Padma looked darkly at the floor. With a disgruntled tone she replied, "I understand perfectly Professor, but Weasley's not here. Should I wait—"

"No."

"But isn't it unfair—"

"No."

"Couldn't I at least—"

"_No._"

Padma sighed and nodded. Professor Snape handed her a sponge and some _Cleaning Wizard_.

"And remember, _no magic. _You are a student and it is not fit for you to use spells on such unstable potions, so don't you dare use anything with a wand to clean my closet. Besides, it is better punishment if I make you clean like a common muggle."

It was really dispiriting how Professor Snape could reduce you to tears in just three sentences. Padma was moaning on the inside. She wished she could just disapparate then and there, she wished she could just forget about this whole thing, but most of all, she wished she could punch a certain Weasley's face in for putting her through this hell.

With a flick of his greasy hair, Snape turned around sharply and walked away stiffly. As she watched his receding form she clenched the sponge in her hand and chucked it as far as she could down the hallway. It flew far out of sight and into the darkness. She let out a frustrated shriek.

Within seconds Padma heard a loud "Ow!"

After a few moments she saw a tall, lanky young man walking toward her, holding the sponge she had threw. She scowled at him and turned on her heel, stomping into the closet. Furiously, she started sweeping all the fallen vials aside, and violently throwing the shards of broken glass into the sack beside her. The sack, being no ordinary thing, gobbled up the trash hungrily. It made a low growling sound, telling her it wanted more.

"Oh hush now," she said irritably, "there'll be plenty more, trust me."

George poked his head in the door.

"George Weasley, reporting for duty!" he said perkily.

"Oh shut it," she barked, "here."

She walked up to him and shoved the _Cleaning Wizard_ into his stomach.

"Oof," he said, doubling over in pain, "what was that for?"

"For being an imbecile and dragging me into doing _this!_"

He looked at her confusedly. She returned his gaze with daggers and proceeded to yell.

"Well what are you gawking at, Weasley?" she said, "Get to work before I feed you to Jimmy!"

She pointed at the vicious looking sack next to her, bearing it's large fangs.

She turned around and continued to sweep the glass debris. She heard vulgar mumbling behind her as George started to clean up the dried up sticky muck on the wall. She could care less though, as she was the one who should be cursing. It was after all, all his fault.

She had just been walking down the hall when she saw him alone. It was surprising, seeing one of the Weasley twins all by themself. It didn't matter at that moment though, since George had been tossing around some sort of super-explosive dungbomb, and it had slipped right into Snape's potion closet, which he happened to be in at the time. There was a loud bang and Snape came out soot-covered and smelling like a troll that had been dipped into hippogriff feces. He looked maniacally at the two of them, even though it had been George's doing. With his teeth gritted and eyes wide with rage, he bellowed at the both of them, making them shake with fear.

Of course they had been sentenced to a ton of detention, which tremendously upset Padma, since she couldn't afford to skip classes. Because regular detention time had to be spent cleaning up the closet, sit-down detention would have to be held during one of Padma's regular classes, which happened to be Charms. She had been one of the few in Professor Flitwick's class to be studying Advanced Charm Spells and now she would miss out. Instead she would be in Professor Snape's office, sitting idly while everyone else would be in lessons. The final exams would kill her for sure.

She hated George most of all. It had been his idiotic fooling around that had gotten her into this mess, and it's not like he had anything important to do that he couldn't afford to sit there mindlessly in detention, she thought. He didn't study, he didn't take Advanced Charms—he wasn't anything like her. It was so unfair.

"Could you pass me the broom?" asked George from behind her.

"No, I'm using. Besides, you're wiping the potions up. You don't need a broom." said Padma sharply.

"Well, maybe it would be easier for you if I helped you sweep up. All I'm doing is wiping up the liquid. You have to sweep up all of those dodgy little pieces. I could—"

"I don't need your help, Weasley," she snapped, "I'm perfectly capable of doing this by myself. You already have a job, why don't you concentrate on it instead of sticking your nose into my business?"

"I was just trying to help." said George indignantly.

"I don't need your charity." said Padma, throwing a shard of glass over her shoulder. It barely missed George and fell right into Jimmy's mouth.

George threw the sponge on the ground angrily.

"What _is_ your problem?" he asked, "You're acting like a—"

"Like a _what?_" growled Padma.

George was still mad, but the way Padma was glaring at him made him back down a little.

"Look, I didn't mean for this to happen. It was an accident." he said, taking a different approach.

"You weren't supposed to be fooling around like that. See what you did? Now I have to spend time in detention when I could be in class studying, but _you_ wouldn't know anything about stuff like that would you?"

"If you don't stop, I swear I'll—"

"What? Draw your wand? Go ahead! Do whatever you like to me. I'm sure it'll get me out of doing this and wasting my time with you."

Padma was huffing so caustically she was almost out of breath. George looked a little downhearted after the harsh shot of words she had spat at him. She didn't feel the least bit rueful though. She just turned away from him like he was nothing and continued working. After a few minutes she heard him slowly go back to scrubbing the walls.

That night Padma washed all the cuts she had gotten from the glass and wrapped her hands up in bandages. She flung herself on her bad, tired and upset. She really felt like crying. How was she going to make all this up? When she got back into class, she would have so much extra work to do, almost all of which, she would have to teach herself. Without a teacher to instruct her on the previous lessons, Padma was doomed to fail.

And it was all because of George Weasley.


	3. Chapter 2

Padma unhappily made her way down the hall to the potion's closet. She had brought Jimmy along with her, who was snarling and growling, eager for a snack. As Padma walked closer she saw that someone was already there. She was surprised to find George already wiping the floors down when she walked into the closet.

"You're early." Padma said.

"So what of it?" snapped George.

Padma's eyes narrowed, "Nothing."

She grabbed the broom and started to sweep again. Occasionally George would accidentally knock over another empty vial, and Padma would yell several verbal abuses at him in her aggravation. It only gave her more work to deal with. He would always get in her sweeping path with his scrubbing, and she would have to push him out of the way. She did this without warning, and he always cursed at her when she did so. Once she pushed him so hard she made him knock over another vial. This one though, was full. She cleaned up the glass, but he had to wipe up the spill. He gave her an absolute vicious look as he did this, one which she returned wholeheartedly.

It was so annoying having to clean up. Shards of glass had flown into the smallest places, and Professor Snape had told her that for every piece of missed glass he found he would deduct ten points from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Not that she care about Gryffindor losing points, but of course she cared about her own house. She groaned as this went through her mind.

"About to puke, Patil?" sneered George.

She just rolled her eyes and ignored him. She looked at the closet. It looked exactly the same as when the bomb exploded...maybe even _worse?_ Padma sat up against the wall, putting her face in her hands. This was a total nightmare. It would take forever to clean this up, and there was no way they could do it without missing at least a few spots...that's a good twenty or thirty house points down the drain! And the work, dear lord the work! She could never catch up! She would fail all her tests and her grades for this year would be the absolute worst ever!

Then, right there, she lost it. Tears welled up in her eyes and she started to quietly into her hands. From across her, George turned around.

"Oh what's wrong with you now?"

When he saw her crying he stopped everything. Confused to what he should do, he stood sat there motionlessly.

"Padma?" he asked softly.

He knew he wouldn't get an answer. Uttering her name was a stupid thing to do but it was the only thing he could think of. On all fours, he crawled up to her slowly. He could hear her muffled crying and little sniffles through her hands. He hesitantly touched her shoulder. The minute she felt him she jerked away.

"Padma?" he asked again, "W-what's wrong?"

She tore her hands away from her face and angrily barked at him, "What the hell do you think is wrong you prat?"

"I..." George had no idea what to do. He was stuck in a closet with an angry, crying girl who hated him.

"Oh it doesn't even matter. You don't care." she said hopelessly.

George opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it. Well, did he care? He wasn't sure. Was he supposed to? God, why did it have to be a _girl_ he was stuck with? If he had been with a guy it would have been so much simpler. Girls were so complicated and difficult, especially this one.

He had to do _something_ though.

Quick, without thinking, George did the one thing he was good at:

Being funny.

"Hey, Padma watch this!" he said, grabbing three small vials. He started juggling them quickly. After a few cycles of going round and round, he threw all three of them up into the air one by one and let them consecutively smash onto his head.

"Ta-da!" he said, green, purple, and orange liquid dripping down his face.

Padma sat there, wide-eyed and speechless. George was still smiling plastically at her.

Her brows furrowed and her expression was back into the same familiar frown he had seen yesterday when she plummeted the _Cleaning Wizard_ into his gut. Except this time, her face seemed a little softer.

"You have got to be the most immature person I know." she said.

George grinned a little sheepishly, "Well, at least that was impressive, eh?"

"Hardly," said Padma, "a blind gnome could juggle better than you."

George looked at her indignantly, "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," she said snidely, smirking in a very Draco Malfoy-way, "a blind gnome with _one arm_."

That was definitely the last straw. George grabbed five nearby vials.

"Could a one-armed blind gnome do _this?_"

With that he started to juggle the vials, throwing them higher and higher with each round. Padma watched him, too proud to admit that it was slightly impressive. Then she had an idea.

"I bet you couldn't do the Irish jig while juggling those things!" she said, waiting for him to admit defeat.

"Watch me!" said George defiantly.

Padma watched in well-disguised awe at the dancing Weasley. As the vials got higher and higher, George tripped on his own legs and fell onto the floor with a thud. The vials were left in mid-air and Padma jumped to catch them. She caught the four, and saw the lone fifth one falling away from her. With one big leap, she reached for the vial like a seeker reaching for a snitch, and caught it in her hand. She fell right on top of George, who let out another "Oof," to rival the one he made yesterday. She sat there on his back, inspecting the potions to see that none of them were damaged.

Below her, was a very disgruntled Weasley.

"Are you _quite _finished?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Padma had almost forgotten her comfortable seat had been alive, and she quickly got off him.

"Well, at least the vials are still in good shape," she said, bemused with the fact.

George stared at her, annoyed.

"I just gave you a magnificent performance and all you care about are those potions?" he asked indignantly.

"Oh don't be so egotistical," said Padma, "It wasn't that great."

She didn't skip a beat as she lied.

George looked like he was about to cry.

"But I—! You're so—! Ugh!"

"Oh hush now," said Padma rolling her eyes, "just because I said it wasn't that great doesn't mean that I still didn't think it was..._somewhat interesting_."

George raised his eyebrow, "_Somewhat interesting?_ What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it says, or are you too stupid to understand?" said Padma.

George cracked a smug smile, "You thought it was cool, didn't you?"

"I said no such thing."

"I said _thought_," retorted George smartly.

"I _thought_ no such thing!" huffed Padma angrily.

"Oh just admit you thought it was bloody wicked, will you?"

"It was most certainly not 'bloody wicked', and that's the end of it!" concluded Padma, "Oh look at the mess you've made! Start cleaning it up!"

George just shook his head, "You can't fool me Patil. I know when someone's been amazed by Weasley talent."

Padma was about to pull her hair out and scream at the top of her lungs.

"Listen Weasley," she said poisonously, "you better get back to work before I stick these vials somewhere _other_ than back on the shelves."

George immediately turned around and started sweeping up his mess, but Padma knew he was still smiling. She furiously wanted to swipe that arrogant little grin off his face. With another huff, she turned her back to him and went back to her own work.


	4. Chapter 3

"I'm telling you Fred," said George exasperatedly, "she's absolutely insane!"

Fred diligently polished the handle of his broom, pretending to listen to the complaints of his brother. He smiled absentmindedly as he twirled the rag around his fingers. George watched this, and easily figured that Fred was now in another world, and definitely not listening to him anymore.

"Fred!" he yelled, snapping him out of his pleasant daydream, "Are you even listening?"

George knew the answer, but he still had to catch his brother in the act.

Fred's face looked distantly euphoric, and George could only guess what he had been thinking about.

"Huh?" asked Fred aloofly, bearing a sheepish grin.

"Look if you want to just go have a snog with Angelina instead of hanging out with your own brother, then just leave..."

Fred looked like he was gladly going to oblige, but then he looked slightly taken aback.

"I...I was listening," he said very unconvincingly, "you're talking about...erm...hold on it'll come to me in a minute..."

George threw his hands up into the air, "Argh! Nevermind. It doesn't matter anymore."

"Oh don't get your wand in a knot," shushed Fred, "I'm listening now."

George gave Fred a tired eye but continued talking.

"She absolutely hates me," said George, "and thinks this whole thing is my fault."

"Well," replied Fred, "isn't it?"

George chewed on his lip for a few seconds.

"Yeah...but that's not the point!" said George in a hurry.

Fred smiled.

"George, I told you not to mess with that dungbomb without me." he said.

"Why?" inquired George, a bit indignant in his tone, "I don't need you around for everything you know...I can cause mischief all by myself if I want to..."

"Oh I can see that," replied Fred, "your extreme mischief making was what got you into this mess."

"So what do you suppose I do?" snapped George a little irritably.

"What do you mean what do you do?" said Fred, "You put up with the punishment, that's what...and maybe you could sneak something into Snape's food—"

"No! I mean with Padma, what should I do about her?"

"Padma?" repeated Fred, a little confusedly, "Oh well...I dunno..."

George groaned, "You're useless sometimes you know?"

"Well what am I supposed to tell you?"

"A solution to make her stop wanting to feed me to Jimmy."

"Jimmy?"

"He's this man-eating sack she carries around—"

George cut himself off at the sight of Fred's both bewildered and horrified face.

"Blimey," Fred said, "she's really out to get you then, isn't she?"

"The sack is just to dispose of trash...not me...but anyway, she still pretty much wants to stuff me in it from time to time. I can't put up with it anymore. I've tried reasoning with her, being mean back—I've even put on a juggling act for her!"

"You _juggled_ for her? A girl hates you and you _juggle_ for her? That's the best you can come up with?"

"She was crying...I didn't know what to do!"

"Why was she crying?" asked Fred curiously, "George, you weren't that mean to her, were you?"

"I didn't do anything! I just turned around and there she was—huddled up in the corner and sobbing into her hands."

"...and so you _juggled_ for her." said Fred again.

"Ugh!" cried George, "Yes I juggled, okay! Come on Fred, I'm running out of ideas!"

"All right, all right," said Fred rubbing his chin, "hm..."

"Got anything?" asked George anxiously.

"Yes!" exclaimed Fred, "I've got just the thing! It's pure genius George, pure genius!"

"Let me hear it Fred!" said George, thrilled to hear he had come up with something.

"All right, here we go!" said Fred excitedly with a deep breath, "_Why don't you apologize?_"

George's face froze.

"Apolo-_what?_"

"You know," began Fred, "_say you're sorry?_"

George sat there silently and stared at his twin, who was sitting across from him looking like an omnipotent god who had just come up with the solution to save mankind from all things bad and evil. He frowned.

"But that...she won't...I can't..." George wasn't sure what he was trying to say at the moment.

"Trust me," assured his brother with a wink, "it just might work."


	5. Chapter 4

George walked slowly down the hallway, dreading what was to come. He knew Padma would already be there, and he had to say it the minute he saw her. He had to just get it over with. He doubted Fred's plan to "apologize" was going to make any difference at all. It would only make him look more of a fool to her. She already thought him a complete bumbling, annoying moron—he didn't need to worsen that image. Still, it was all he had. He had to try.

When he arrived at the potions closest Padma was vigorously scraping a small crack in the wall for glass shards.

"Padma?" said George.

She jumped at her name and let out a small, "Ouch!"

Turning around fiercely, she began yelling at him, "You blithering idiot! You made me cut myself!"

His brows furrowed in quick-rising anger, but he controlled himself.

"Oh, sorry," he said not-too-sincerely, "listen Padma, I need to talk to you."

"What is it?" she snapped shortly, "I don't want to waste time. We still have loads of work to do on this closet."

"It'll just be a minute." said George.

She stepped over all the bottles and glass on the floor and made her way over to George. George looked at her nervously.

"Come on then," she said sternly, "spit it out!"

He chewed on his lip hesitantly, looking at her incensed face.

"Well I...I just wanted to..."

"Yes?" said Padma.

"See I was going to..."

"What? You were going to what?"

"I wanted to say..."

"_Say what?_"

"What I mean is...I...I..."

"Ugh! I don't have time for this!" she said, annoyed with George's senseless babbling. She swiftly turned around and started walking back towards the wall. Without thinking, George blurted it out.

"I'm sorry!" he cried.

Padma froze in mid-step and slowly turned around again.

George proceeded with his apologies.

"I'm sorry I slipped the dungbomb into Snape's closet and got you into trouble, I'm sorry I kept getting in your way when we were cleaning, I'm sorry I wasted your time with my foolish juggling act, I'm sorry I made you cut yourself—I'm sorry for everything Padma, everything!"

It seemed like his cries had echoed through the hallways. After they had seemed to have faded, there was nothing but complete silence between the two. Padma stood there, speechless. George was still staring at her breathlessly with a manic look on his face. After a very long minute, Padma finally spoke.

"Well erm...I suppose...that's...that's all right then." she said primly looking away from him.

George looked at her, astonished, "_What?_"

"It's...it's okay." she said gently.

"_Okay?_ That's all you have to say?" he asked irately.

"Oh don't start with me!" snapped Padma furiously. George sunk down in his posture, his arms hanging limply by his side. Padma softened up.

"I mean well," she began, "what else am I supposed to say?"

George really had no idea. Padma had obviously accepted his apology, but why didn't he feel better?

"Nothing, forget it." muttered George. He picked up the _Cleaning Wizard_ and grabbed his sponge. He bent down to resume his cleaning. Padma was still standing, not sure what her next move should be. After a moment or two, she bent down next to George, who's eyes were solely fixated on viciously scrubbing the floors.

"George?" said Padma quietly.

"What?" he barked.

"Can I tell you something?" she asked timidly.

"What is it?" he asked roughly.

"I'm..." Padma began shyly, "I'm sorry too."

George stopped his arduous cleaning and looked up at her.

"For what?" he asked, "You didn't get us into this."

"That's true but..." said Padma, now shifting her gaze to avoid looking him in the eyes, "I was pretty nasty to you. I said a lot of mean things...I'm sorry for that."

George looked a little perplexed at first, but then agreed,

"Yeah, you were acting like a total hag."

Padma's soft expression quickly turned sour as she slapped him on the back on his head.

"Ow!" he yelled in pain.

"You're such a git!" she said, standing up, "Here I am trying be nice and you go and insult me!"

"All right, all right, I'm sorry...again," said George, "...erm...apology accepted."

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Padma starting to get even more piqued, "You say 'apology accepted' conceitedly like this is all my doing! Arrogant, that's what you are, completely arrogant!"

"No...I didn't—I didn't mean for it to sound like that...please, Padma..." George was on his knees, pleading with her. He had endured so much as it is; he most definitely did not want more.

Padma watched the pitiful looking Weasley on his knees, begging for her not to get angry. His big puppy-dog eyes were sad and desperate. She sighed.

"All right, hush then," she said motherly, "get up off the floor."

He obeyed her and stood up.

"How about we just...start anew?" she suggested calmly.

"Um, good idea." said George with a little smile. Padma did not return the expression. She merely looked at him with a prudish look on her face, arms folded and standing up straight and stiff.

"Look, this whole apology thing has both established that we're both sorry...we don't need to mull over it anymore...it only seems to get me angry and make you suffer..."

"A lot." finished George. She gave him a slightly venomous look and he dropped his gaze to the floor.

"Anywho," said Padma, "let's just get back to work and forget this whole thing, okay?"

"Sound's good to me," said George.

They worked in silence for nearly an hour, cleaning the closet industriously. They had made the most progress today then they had in the past two days they had been here. Padma was relieved that there was at least some hope of getting this job done a little quicker than she had first thought. She might not have to make up so much after all.

"What're you smiling about?" asked George curiously, watching Padma scuff the last bits of glass out of the corner. He was thoroughly interested, since this was the first time he had seen her smile this whole time. She had smirked once yes, but never smiled.

Padma hadn't noticed it herself, and was a bit surprised when George asked. Not wanting him to think she was warming up to him, she quickly retorted,

"None of your business, Weasley."

He just rolled his eyes and went back to work. His back to her, he started speaking casually.

"Padma, if you don't mind me asking," he started, "why did you just burst out crying the other day? It couldn't have been all because of me."

"Well for your information I _do_ mind, but I'll answer your question anyway." said Padma in her all-too-familiar priggish tone.

George paused a second before replying with a passive, "Okay..."

"I thought I would have a lot of Advanced Charms homework to make up," said Padma, "I knew I couldn't learn those complicated spells without the help of Professor Flitwick so I thought I would surely fail. The stress just got to me I suppose."

"Oh..." said George, not sure what he should reply with, "I'm sorry. I guess I didn't realize that you would have a lot more work to make up than I would, you being all smart 'n stuff..."

For some reason Padma felt a little embarrassed.

"You're older than me so our workload is probably still the same." she said coolly.

"Nah," said George, "I don't think so. You take advanced stuff. That's got to be way more tough."

George's monotonous tone was a little unnerving to Padma. She wasn't sure what emotion she was feeling at the moment but it made her stomach sink a little.

She purposely changed the subject, "Well the closet looks great so far."

George turned around to face her, his blue eyes trying to catch her dark brown ones. She didn't dare meet his gaze.

"Oh," he said indifferently, "yeah...I suppose."

Standing next to him at the moment made Padma feel quite awkward. She chewed on her lip and examined her fingernails, which were suddenly very interesting. George sighed.

"Well all right then," he said, throwing some last pieces of glass over to Jimmy (who had been soundly asleep until being rudely pelted with the stuff), "guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

Padma thought he looked quite tired. She didn't really want to say anything to him, so she just nodded and he took his leave. He brushed past her and walked out the door.

Padma didn't sleep very well that night.


	6. Chapter 5

"Poor guy," remarked Parvati, "he's probably scared as hell of you."

Padma groaned, "Please Parvati, he deserves it."

Parvati just rolled her eyes as both of them walked down the hallway, arm in arm. They always looked like quite a pair, trotting around Hogwarts like that. The truth was, Padma always felt good when she was with Parvati, like she could fit in easier. Parvati was outgoing, and quite the social butterfly. She could be bratty, and a bit mean sometimes, but people still liked her. Padma on the other hand, was quiet and reserved when she was alone. She wasn't really shy, but people just got the vibe that she had better things to do than talk to them, a vibe that she suddenly really wanted to shake off. Padma was very focused and organized most of the time. She was very mature and people often thought that she didn't know how to joke around or have fun.

It was times like those when she wanted Parvati to be her safety shield.

"He's one of the Weasley twins, right?" asked Parvati.

"Yeah," replied Padma.

"Which one is he?"

"George."

"Ugh, how disappointing. Fred's much cuter."

Now Padma rolled her eyes, "They look exactly the same, Parvati."

"Well since Fred's in my house, I can tell the two apart, and Fred is obviously much better looking than his brother."

"I don't think so," said Padma a bit defensively, "I think they're equal in looks."

"Whatever you say..." said Parvati, "Hey, you can take another look because here they come."

"What?"

Sure enough, twins were headed for twins as the two pairs of siblings were walking towards each other. Padma saw the two redheads coming down the hallway, arms around each other's shoulders in a brotherly manner. It was quite comical actually, the fact that both duos were meeting at the same time.

As the two Weasleys approached them, Padma realized that she had no idea who was who. To her, each was a mirror image of the other.

"Well look who it is," said one of them, "I've been waiting to formally meet you for awhile."

Padma looked a little disconcerted at first, but then logically knew that this one was Fred.

"Erm, yes," she said awkwardly.

"Fred Weasley," he said, sticking his hand out. She shook it hesitantly.

"Don't fret Padma," he said, "my hand doesn't have fangs."

Both him and George chuckled. Parvati, not used to being left out of a conversation for this long, interjected.

"Hold on now," she said, "how do you know _she's_ Padma?"

Ordinarily, it would make sense that one could tell from their uniforms, Padma being in Ravenclaw and Parvati being in Gryffindor, but this was a weekend and they were allowed to wear casual clothes.

"Easy, _Parvati_," said Fred smartly, "you always wear your hair down, and Padma always has hers in a braid."

Parvati retorted, "Well we could have switched to trick you."

"And what are the chances that you would have expected that _both_ of us would be arriving here at this very moment?"

Parvati frowned as she stood there, easily defeated.

Fred smirked. George on the other hand spoke to Padma.

"Well we should probably get to work, Padma. Professor Snape told me he would be dropping in for a progress report and inspection."

Padma nodded and said goodbye to her sister. She walked into the closet before George, and behind her back, she heard Fred whisper, "Now George, she's not the raging madwoman you described her as."

"Shut up, Fred!" whispered George sharply, anger present in his voice.

Fred just gave a little snicker and walked away. Parvati had did the same, but Padma heard her starting a nagging rant at Fred, something which she wasn't displeased with at all. As George entered the room, Padma started.

"A raging madwoman, huh?" asked Padma in fake-rage.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about that...I...I wasn't thinking at the time. Look if it makes you feel any better I can take over your job for you—"

"It's okay, George, I was kidding."

"—I don't mind at all, I'll just—_what?_"

"I said I was kidding." said Padma. George just stood there, mouth slightly agape.

"Well, don't just stand there like a half-wit," said Padma, hands on her hips, "get to work!"

George started to do his duties, but his expression did not change. As he was wiping some grime up off the floor, he came to a surprising realization.

"Hey," he said, "you called me _George_."

"That's your name, isn't it?" replied Padma.

"Yeah but...you usually just call me 'Weasley'"

"And I can go back to it if you don't stop pestering me."

George didn't stop talking, but he decided to change the subject.

"When you said you were kidding..." he said, "you were serious right?"

"What kind of dumb question is that?"

"Well," said George very matter-of-factly, "it's just that I thought you had no sense of humor whatsoever."

There was an extremely eerie silence that lasted a few seconds before Padma walked over to George, who was on all fours on the floor, and looked down at him with a piercing glare.

"I happen to have a very wonderful sense of humor, thank you very much!" she huffed at him.

He looked up at her.

"Doubt it." he said simply.

She was now in a very real rage.

"Well if that's what you think then—!"

"And that's also your problem," said George, standing up to her, lowering his smug face close to her's, "you're so short-tempered. It's hard to believe someone like you could be capable of making jokes."

"I-I..."

She stood there, stuttering stupidly as she looked up at George, who was definitely a good head or so taller than she was. She absolutely hated his face; she loathed the way his fiery red hair framed his naughty, mischievous eyes and enhanced his devilish expression. She especially hated the smile he was giving her: the complacent, "I beat you," grin she often got from Parvati. Except on George, it was much more annoying.

Padma had to admit that she was standing there rather like a half-wit herself, at a complete loss for words. The fact that she couldn't find something fit enough to retort with reduced her to settle for a simple, "Hmph!" and walk away stiffly in a Professor McGonnagal-like manner. George watched her as she walked away, thoroughly amused with the fact that he had triumphed over her with his slightly arrogant wit. Though Padma had her back to him, she knew he was wearing a very satisfied smirk. She wanted to slap him so badly, but most of all she wanted to slap herself for letting him get to her.

The silence that lasted between the two for the next hour drove Padma absolutely insane. She could hardly bear it, working in the same room with a disturbing quietness and the fact that one of the two had easily outwitted the other lingered in the air about them, pestering Padma to no end. It didn't help when George started humming a pleasant yet for some reason _really_ annoying tune.

Padma clenched the handle of the broom tightly in her hand, gritting her teeth.

"Will you please _stop?_" she asked in aggravation.

"Stop what?" asked George playfully.

"You know!"

"Honestly, I don't know...hm hmm hm..."

"_Humming!_ Stop bloody _humming!_"

"Oh, _that_," said George, "no, I don't think I'll stop. I rather like this song...hm hmm hm hmm..."

"Ugh!" Padma screamed, "YOU ARE SO _ANNOYING_!"

George couldn't hold back any longer. He burst out into laughter at Padma's flustered expression, and she quickly got red in the face with anger.

"Laugh at this, then!"

Padma grabbed a handful of the nearest goop and chucked it at the laughing Weasley. When George's brain registered the fact that he should probably dodge the glowing green slime, it was already too late. The flying glop splattered all over his face.

George didn't say anything. He stood there without a word, in pure shock of what had just happened. Padma just stared at him. His face was completely glowing. He slowly used his hands to wipe the stuff out of his eyes, and with a quick shake of his fingers, he flicked the gross concoction off his hands, absolutely disgusted. Some of it splashed into Jimmy's mouth, and he growled with disgust. Padma's face was blank. George almost thought she was petrified with shock herself until she did something he never thought he'd hear.

She laughed.

No, she didn't just laugh, she burst out into total hysterics. She doubled over, not able to contain herself. Soon she was rolling on the floor, as if she had gone mad. George stared at her, dumbfounded to what was happening. She looked up at him and cried through her laughter,

"You...you...you look like a human night light!" she shrieked with hysteria, "Ha...hahahaha! You...look...so...stupid!"

George was really at a loss for words now. She didn't mind though; she was too busy laughing at him like a deranged psychopath to listen to any form of retort he had in mind.

Still, he had to say something before she got any crazier.

"It's...it's not that funny, Padma..." grumbled George.

"Yes it is!" she chortled, "Oh...you should see your...hahaha...face!"

George was blushing under his slime coating. Padma stood up, still laughing, and brushed herself off. She stifled herself for a little bit as she walked up to him to get a better look. At once, she started laughing again, as the green goop had started to bubble on his face. George was now starting to get really annoyed with Padma, who's spastic fits of giggles had made him flush even more. He grabbed some glop off his face and thrust it onto Padma's cheek, rubbing it in thoroughly. She stopped laughing at once, and her once happy expression turned into one of anger to match George's.

"Why you—" she started, grabbing his shirt. George assumed he was in for a good beating, but didn't get a chance to find out as Padma stepped backwards and slipped on some fallen, slippery slime. She slipped and fell, bringing George along with her. They hit the floor together, George collapsing on top of Padma. She stared up at him in shock, and he almost wet his pants with anticipation of what was going to happen. He was sure that Padma was going to mercilessly kill him when the door slammed open.

A certain greasy-haired Potions master stood before them.


	7. Chapter 6

"_What_, in the name of merlin, is going on?" said Snape through clenched teeth.

George looked from him to Padma, whom he had been straddling. He quickly removed both arms from either side of her and got off her body. Padma quickly got up as well, her face petrified with horror.

"I-It's not what it looks like Professor!" cried George.

Snape didn't look convinced.

"_Don't_ waste my time with your pointless cover-ups, Weasley." he growled.

Padma pleaded, "No, it's true! What you saw...it was a result of pure accident!"

Snape's eye twitched and he turned to her.

"You expect me to believe," he said, "that you and Weasley ended up on the floor like that on _accident?_"

"Yes!" exclaimed George, "She slipped and accidentally caught my shirt and we—"

"Started a hormonally-charged carnal romp in my potion's closet?" finished Snape.

George's ears turned pink, "No, it's not like that at all!"

"You know I always got the sense that Patil thought you an imbecile, Weasley," remarked Snape, "I guess I have been proven wrong."

"No!" interjected Padma, "I do think he's an imbecile!"

"That apparently didn't stop you from rolling around on the floor with him...and...what _is_ that you're covered with?"

Padma and George were both baffled at the question until they finally realized they were still covered in slime.

"It's...it's...well actually I don't know, really." answered George dumbly.

Snape's eye twitched again. He bared his teeth slightly and Padma thought she should cut in before the situation worsened.

"Professor," she said, clasping her hands together, "just please look at the progress we've made! That's what matters isn't it?"

Snape looked like he was about to disagree, but he simply walked forward, looking around the closet. Every time he scrutinized a small nook or cranny, Padma was sure he was going to yell out, "Ten points from Ravenclaw!" or "Ten points from Gryffindor!" but she knew he wouldn't—it wasn't final inspection yet. This was just mid-inspection. Still, the way Snape examined each niche made her uneasy. George seemed to be feeling the same way, because when Padma glanced over to him his face was riddled with worry and anticipation.

Finally, Snape spoke in a calm but menacing tone.

"How are you disposing of the waste? You aren't making it disappear some place are you? I told you that's not allowed."

"We aren't using magic," said Padma, "we're feeding the trash to Jimmy."

"_Jimmy?_"

"He's over there." Padma pointed to the worn-out, beaten-up looking sack in the corner. Snape raised his eyebrow.

"You named a _sack?_"

"It's no ordinary sack," said George, "it's got a charm on it I think."

"A _charm?_ That counts as magic." said Snape, sounding slightly ecstatic that he may have found something to further punish the pair about.

"No, no," said Padma, "you said not to use a wand to clean you closet, remember?"

"Your point?"

"Well, you said nothing about using charmed sacks, did you?"

Snape's face was torpid, Padma could have sworn she saw a flash of lightning in his eyes. She at once started to regret pointing out the loophole to him. Snape was looking dangerously at her, and inside she cowered a little. This could _not_ be good for her Potion's grades.

"Ms. Patil, I am not amused." he said cynically.

"Sorry, Professor." Padma apologized.

"No, she's right." blurted George. Snape turned to him.

"What's that, Weasley?"

George looked a little nervous under his gaze, but continued anyway.

"You never said anything about using a charmed sack. Technically we didn't do anything wrong. Or are you about to lie to yourself, Professor?"

Snape's nostrils flared with rage, and Padma feared for George's life.

"Mind your tongue, Weasley." said Snape in a hostile tone.

"Why? I didn't say anything wrong."

"George, shush!" snapped Padma, trying to stop him from taking this any further.

"You should take Patil's advice, Weasley," snarled Snape, "or I might just have to expand your detention time."

Padma gave George a pleading look. She really couldn't handle more detentions. Fortunately, George nodded and obliged to her silent request.

"Please Professor," begged Padma, "we've been working so hard. All we did was use Jimmy as a waste bin. Please don't punish us. We really have been doing our best."

Snape looked down at her through lidded eyes.

"I'll be back in to days for your final inspection." said Snape lackadaisically.

He turned around and started walking away. Padma let out a sigh of relief. She was pretty sure that was his way of saying they were off the hook. She was about to say thank you when she saw Snape stepping towards a puddle of slime that had dripped off of George's face. His nose was pointed up so high he didn't even notice himself heading towards it.

"Professor watch out!"

It was already too late. Snape's heel slid on the gooey liquid and he slipped on it, hands flailing wildly in the air as he fell flat on his stomach. Padma gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, looking at her Professor with big eyes. George on the other hand, just burst out laughing.

Snape got up in a fluster, whipped around and looked at them with disheveled hair and his robes all rumpled and untidy. His teeth were gritted in shock and anger, and Padma readied herself for his fiery wrath.

Surprisingly, Snape just whipped back around and stomped out the door without a word. George was still laughing insanely. Padma was about to shush him again when she realized the whole thing had been pretty funny. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and soon she found herself laughing with George. It was a goodhearted laugh, not like the maniacal one she had been doing earlier, and George decided he like this light, cheerful one a lot better.

"Whew," he said, wiping a tear from his eye, "that was good."

Padma nodded, "I wish he'd do that in class."

"We could always...'spill' a bit onto the floor of his classroom." suggested George deviously.

"It's tempting," said Padma with a smile, "but I think we've already gotten into enough trouble."

George skimmed his eyes around the closet and agreed, "Yeah, we're almost finished cleaning this place as it is. Don't need more work, do we?"

"Yeah," replied Padma, "we are nearly done. We only have to clean up little messes now, and that'll be easy. I don't even mind wiping up the slime we were tossing around earlier."

"Speaking of that," said George, "you still have it all over your cheek. Here, let me get that for you."

He grabbed a cloth and wiped the junk off Padma's face. The cotton felt nice on her skin as George gently rubbed it on her cheek.

"Oh...er, thanks," she said, "your face is completely green. I'll just take care of that."

She took another cloth and cleaned George's face. He let her wipe him clean, and felt very much like a small child letting his mother wash him up after playing in the mud. Padma licked her thumb and rubbed his cheek.

"Ew, I don't need your spit on my face!" he said sticking his tongue out in disgust.

"Oh hush," said Padma in a way that reminded George of his own mum, "and hold still."

After she was finished, she walked over and started cleaning up the rest of the slime. George watched her as she gently wiped it up, not at all like the way she had been cleaning before. She looked patient and calm and actually made him be able to approach her without fearing for his life. As he bent down and started to assist her, he couldn't help but remark,

"I'm glad you're in a better mood."

She just looked up at him happily and said, "Me too."

Beside them, Jimmy snored peacefully.


	8. Chapter 7

"George, you dog!" exclaimed Fred, "You were _straddling _her? Well, Weasleys _are_ always on top!"

George was blushing madly, "It's not like that, I swear!"

"Sure, George, and now you probably expect me to believe that Granger's failed all her exams?"

George looked like a tomato, and Fred was having a really fun time tormenting him. George knew he never should have told his brother about what had happened yesterday with Padma, but he had always shared everything with him. Actually, once George got past Fred's howling fits of laughter, he knew he would be glad he spilled. After all, it's not like Fred was going to spread it around. He liked having the secret pleasure of poking fun at his own brother to himself.

"The whole thing was a complete accident," said George defending himself, "she grabbed my shirt and—"

"She _grabbed_ your shirt? The girl's so bloody aggressive! Naughtiness must've gotten the better of her, I suppose..."

"I told you, it's not like that!"

"Oh please," said Fred in that all-knowing tone of his, "it's okay. If you wanted to have a good bang, just admit it. Though, a potion's closet isn't really my choice of dirty rendezvous but hey, if it suits you..."

"You are _so_ perverted!" yelled George, "I didn't have those intentions at all! In fact, I didn't even have any intentions. It was basically all her fault."

"Oh so she wanted to bang _you_."

"Yes-I mean no! No, no, no!"

Fred smirked at his very flustered brother.

"All right, all right," he said, "maybe it was an 'accident', as you say..."

"Thank you."

"...or you might've just wanted a smashing good time!"

George threw a pillow at Fred, who was once again laughing at his own lewd jokes.

"Seriously though," said George, talking to his newly pillow-faced brother, "I am glad she's lightened up. Yesterday seemed too put her in a much better mood."

Fred snorted.

"I didn't mean _like that!_"

"Hahahaha...okay, okay. No more, I'm done...I'm done...hahaha...okay for real this time...ha...okay this time for sure—"

"Oh shut up," said George, "how bout we just change the subject?"

"Fine." said Fred, still grinning.

"How's it going with Angelina?" asked George.

"Great...we snogged yesterday at the Quidditch pitch."

"Ugh, don't you two ever do anything else?"

"See she does this thing with her tongue—"

"Enough! I don't need to know those details!"

"Well actually the tongue is more of my thing..."

"Don't doubt that." said George smiling dirtily.

"Yeah, after that we sneaked into that part of the library where no one ever goes and—"

"Don't bother to go any further. I think I already know." said George revolted at how sickening his brother could be sometimes.

Fred smirked lecherously, "Dear brother, are you sure you don't want me to go on? I could give you tips..."

"That's fine," said George, "I don't need them."

"So you did dizzy up Padma then?" accused Fred.

"No," said George, "it's just that, I've been around enough to know good methods."

"Oh yeah, like what?" asked Fred curiously.

"Like I'm gonna tell you."

"Oh come on! We're brothers!" begged Fred.

"No. Why do you want to know anyway? It sounds like you already have some good methods yourself, or are your stories of you an Angelina just a bunch of hot air?"

Fred looked appalled, and George wanted to start laughing in his face because his expression was so priceless.

"Fine, I don't need your secrets!" said Fred folding his arms and turning away like an upset little child.

"Oh don't be like that," said George, "you remind me of Ginny when we told her she couldn't play Aurors and Deatheaters with us."

Fred looked over his shoulder and laughed, "The only reason we couldn't let her play was because she always hit us too hard with her play-wand. You should of seen my bruises."

"Tch, yeah." agreed George with a chuckle.

"Speaking of Ginny, she seems like she's getting around quite a lot herself." said Fred seriously.

George nodded, "Yeah, we should keep an eye on her."

"Saw her snogging Dean yesterday..." Fred shuddered, "I swear, if he gets any ideas..."

George chuckled, "Don't think you need to worry about that, Fred. If Dean ever tries to put the moves on Ginny, it'd only result in the whole Weasley brotherhood after his arse. Hell, I bet Percy would pitch in."

Fred agreed and chuckled along with his brother, who's laugh slowly turned into a dry one, as if he had become bemused with some troubling thought.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Huh?" George said aloofly, "Oh nothing..."

"Yeah right..." said Fred very skeptically. He hated it when his twin kept things from him. It drove him absolutely crazy, and he wasn't about to let this slip so George could change the subject.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" asked George uneasily.

"You're going to tell me once on your mind." stated Fred.

"Or what?"

Like lightning, Fred jumped out of his seat and tackled George to the floor. He slammed his wrists to the floor, and though George was struggling wildly, Fred did not give. He was completely pinning his brother down, who still had a look of bewildered shock in his eyes.

"Now, tell me!" demanded Fred.

"_What the bloody hell is wrong with you?_" yelled George paying no mind to Fred's order.

"A lot of things, now stop changing the subject!" said Fred, "Tell me!"

"I...argh...have no idea what you're talking about!" growled George. Fred didn't believe him for a second.

"Oh don't be stupid," he said, "you know exactly what I'm talking about. Now spill before I—"

Fred stopped in mid-sentence and looked to the side. George did the same. They saw two slipper-clad feet. They simultaneously looked upwards, following a path from long legs to a chest, and finally, fiery red-haired head. Staring into wide, sickened eyes, they were both dumbfounded.

"So this..." said Ron, "is what you've been doing up late all these nights?!"

"Er..." replied Fred.

"Mum's going to faint..." said Ron, turning and walking back toward his dorm.

"Hold it right there!" yelled George. Ron stopped and turned back around.

"It's not what it looks like!" George said familiar words. It was really an odd, unpleasant coincidence that the same, awkward event had happened twice in a row—and both times had not even been his fault.

"What is it then?" asked Ron disgustedly.

"I was trying to extract information from George." said Fred defensively. He couldn't let Ron spread this around. What would Angelina think?

"Information that I will not now, or ever reveal!" yelled George, finally shoving his brother off him.

George grabbed Ron by the shirt.

"Listen Ickle Ronniekins," he hissed, "you didn't see anything, and if you don't want to wake up with unwanted appendages—or worse an appendage _missing—_then you won't say a word about this to anyone else, _ever_."

Ron nodded shakily, his whole body trembling as George let him go. Fred opened his mouth to say something, but George had apparently foreseen that happening as he held up a silencing hand. Fred's mouth snapped shut, and he and Ron exchanged glances. George shut himself away in his dorm without a word.


	9. Chapter 8

"She was giggling about it the whole night!" said Padma, waving her sponge wildly in the air. George watched her amusedly. Apparently, her sister hadn't ever shut up about what happened yesterday either. He really thought that Fred and Parvati would make a nice pair, and if his brother wasn't already dating Angelina, the thought of setting the two up might actually cross George's mind.

Last night was somewhat of an unpleasant memory for George, who was still feeling strange about not sharing his thoughts with his brother. Fred was probably wondering what was up, but he hadn't said a word to George the whole day. George really hoped his twin wasn't angry with him; they hardly _ever_ got into serious fights, and when they did, it was terrible. The whole idea of being mad at Fred made George feel sad and guilty, and he knew it made Fred feel the same way.

"Fred was having a really good laugh about it too," said George, "it drove me mad."

Padma concurred, "Sometimes you wish you could throttle em', huh?"

"You can't help sharing with them though, can you? It's like you're just automatically compelled to. Fred 'n I always tell each other everything." said George a bit sadly. He hoped Padma hadn't noticed.

"It's the same with Parvati and I," said Padma, "it's harder for us though, since we're in different houses. Sometimes I wish I was in Gryffindor with her."

Now George was really feeling guilty. The whole, "I'm so lucky to have Fred" monologue started playing into his mind. He couldn't even imagine what it would be like to be separated from his brother and best friend just by houses. That would so horrible—what if they had even been on different Quidditch teams?

"I'm sorry." said George.

"Hm?" asked Padma, "For what?"

George looked to the side to avoid her gaze, "I'm sorry for you and Parvati. I've never known what it's like to be separated from my twin for so long."

"Oh, don't worry about it," said Padma with a small smile, "it's not like we never see each other. We always spend free time together. We're still sisters."

George was staring at a bottle of some orangish-yellow liquid on one of the shelves. He wasn't really listening to Padma. He was sort of sorry he ever brought Fred up, because now he couldn't get him out of his mind. Padma was looking curiously at George with penetrating eyes. Though he wasn't looking at her, George could still feel them on him.

"George?" asked Padma, "Are you all right?"

George turned back to her, not able to avoid her eyes any longer. She looked genuinely concerned, something George would've never expected from her four days ago. He didn't understand why words started flowing out of his mouth despite the fact that his brain was screaming at him not to confide in her.

"I sort of blew up at Fred last night," sighed George, "'been feeling guilty ever since."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," said Padma understandingly, "may I ask why you got so angry?"

"He was interrogating me like crazy. I didn't want to tell him anything. He probably thought I was mad at him, since we've always shared everything."

Padma looked thoughtfully at George. Something struck her at that moment, and she put on a small grin.

"He didn't levitate you, did he?" she asked.

"What?" inquired George.

"Sometimes, when Parvati wants to get a bit of gossip out of me, she levitates me in the air—let's me hang up there by my foot. It's terrible."

George laughed, "Ha, no, he didn't levitate me. He did tackle me though."

Padma giggled, "Well, boys are more of the rough type."

"Yeah, and the worst part is, Ron walked in on us and sort of got the wrong idea."

"Goodness," said Padma, blushing, "you _did_ explain the situation to him, didn't you?"

"Well of course!" said George, "Can't have him spreading that around the Quidditch pitch! Fred might as well seal his fate at the feet of Angelina."

Both of them burst out into laughter. He could just picture Angelina chasing his brother around the pitch with her broom. Fred would be screaming for his life, hands flailing wildly in the air.

Thinking of this brought him back to the whole reason why he had gotten cross with Fred yesterday. It really was a silly reason to yell at him, but George had gotten caught up in his own embarrassment. The whole thing led him to storm out for fear of his secret slipping out in front of both of his brothers.

The fact was, George was a little embarrassed that all his brothers (and sister) had been or were currently in a relationship. The whole thing was not only embarrassing, but a little disturbing as well. His _little sister_ had a boyfriend! And there's no doubt that the boys of Hogwarts were still eyeing her despite the fact that she was involved with someone already. Fred had Angelina, Percy had Penelope, Bill was in a relationship with Fleur Delacour, Ron and Hermione were a match made in heaven, and Charlie was going to be getting married in a few months. What did George have to show for himself? Sure, he took Alicia Spinnett to the Yule Ball, but it had been boring, and if it wasn't for the live entertainment he probably would have fallen asleep.

Unfortunate for him, George now found himself feeling sad, guilty _and_ depressed.

"George...?" Padma waved a hand in front of his face. He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her.

"Erm, let's get to work shall we?" he said, eager to change the subject (he seemed to have a knack for doing that), "Right then, I'll just be getting to my scrubbing!"

"Um, okay..." said Padma, looking at him oddly. He simply ignored this and whipped around, scrubbing the wall even though there wasn't a stain there. He hoped she would go back to her work as well.

Fortunately, she did go back, and the two worked quietly for the hour. After some final touch-ups, both of them gazed at the closet proudly. Every niche, nook, crack and cranny was as clean as could be, and the floor was absolutely spotless. Padma had quadruple-checked for any tiny pieces of glass that they might have missed, but none were to be found. George had arranged all the vials and bottles neatly on their shelves, and had even put them in alphabetical order. Yes, the two had done a great job, if they do say so themselves...

...and maybe they had used a _little_ magic.

"It looks wonderful!" said Padma cheerfully, twirling around the sparkling room, "Don't you think?"

George nodded, "Yeah, we did a fantastic job."

"I even think it looks better now than before the dungbomb!"

George thought back to that incident. He remembered Padma had been so furious with him, and now she looked like she was ready to prance through the hallways tossing flowers. He was glad it was finally over. He would be finished with detentions, and could finally get back to class. Although, sitting through a boring class didn't really sound that appealing now. However, he knew Padma would be thrilled, and he was happy for her. After all, he knew how much her grades meant to her.

George watched her dance around the room, admiring their work. Jimmy looked quite annoyed with her antics, but she looked so happy.

"Glad it's all over now?" he asked her.

"Oh yes!" she said, "Although now I'll have to catch up with all the Advanced Charms I've missed. Oh well then...it'll still be great to get back to it! Plus, this whole experience has sort of changed my outlook on things..."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. At first I was just painfully dwelling on the whole situation, over and over again, thinking it could never be finished, but now here we are! And also," said Padma sheepishly, "I was also thought I was going to hate working with you..."

George looked at her a little dismally.

"...but that's changed too!" she finished cheerfully.

"Hm?"

"See, at first I thought you were an irresponsible troublemaker. I was so angry with you, yelling at you, shoving cleaning products in your stomach and what not..."

George winced remembering the thought.

"...but now...now I know that you're also annoying, immature, and clumsy."

George's jaw dropped. He had actually started to think that they were on good terms with each other now.

"Padma I—"

"But now I also know...you're also funny, nice, and good at cheering people up."

George blinked. Didn't she just say that he was annoying, immature, and clumsy? He wasn't sure what kind of game Padma was playing, but hearing her give him that many complimentsat a time was a rare thing.

"Really?" asked George in disbelief.

"Yeah. I never told you this, but I thought it was bloody brilliant the way you juggled those vials a couple of days ago..." said Padma a little shyly.

"I knew it!" said George, "I knew you thought it was cool!"

"Yeah, but it would've been a lot cooler if you hadn't dropped them." said Padma smartly.

"Oh come on," said George, "how many people do you know that can juggle five vials while doing the Irish Jig?"

"Only one, I suppose," replied Padma, "and you did break my fall when I caught the potions in the air."

"That wasn't very pleasant." said George, remembering how she had fell on him, nearly breaking his back.

Padma giggled. He was really warming up to that sound.

"Still," he said, "I have to agree, that my opinion of you has changed a bit too, Padma."

"How so?"

"Well, at first I thought you were just sort of quiet."

"And...?"

"And now, I know you are huffy, prudish and remind me of my own mum."

"WHAT?"

George laughed, "Haha, but you're also nice, gentle, and quite a bit immature yourself!"

"Well, I guess that will suffice." said Padma primly.

George smiled, "I also found out that it's damn fun to tease you too."

"George Weasely," said Padma waving an angry finger at him, "you drive me to my wit's end sometimes..."

George looked taken aback.

"...but It's been a pleasure."

She held her hand out to him. He reached out and took it in his own, and shook it. Her hand was small, and soft. As her slender fingers wrapped around his own, he found himself enjoying the handshake a lot more than he should. He was a little sad when she let go.

The whole thing was very nostalgic. Soon Snape would be here to inspect the closet, and he and Padma would be done with working with each other. Though ninety-five percent of the whole thing was a seemingly nightmarish experience, he had learned a lot. He had learned to apologize properly (well okay, not properly), make peace with someone who seemed impossible to work with, and also, he had learned some damn good cleaning skills.

Padma seemed to be thinking the same things as she too had a distant look of remembrance in her eye. He watched her, as she watched him, and saw how her neat braid fell over her shoulder and how her side-swept bangs framed her face on each side so he could see it clearly. Her face was slender, like her whole body, and it was slightly heart-shaped. Her nose was pointed downwards a little—though not at all beak-shaped or crooked like Professor Snape's. Her tanned complexion reminded him of toffee and her raven-black hair was still smooth and silky looking, despite the fact she had been cleaning all this time. Her small golden hoop earrings hung from her lobes, and George decided, she looked quite elegant.

Padma was also taking in George's appearance...and didn't get to finish her entranced thoughts because someone interrupted them as they entered through the door.

"This closet better be sparkling." said Snape.


	10. Chapter 9

Snape inspected the closet down to every last brick in the wall. Every step he took made George and Padma uneasy with worry that he might find something trivial and pointless to deduct points on. However, it was quite obvious that Snape was pleased with their work, though he did not show it. It was sort of like when he examined Hermione's work in class; he did not so much as nod with approval but everyone knew she passed.

Padma was quite amused when Snape gave his post-inspection review.

"Well, the both of you did _passably_. Not horrid, but a smidgen to decent I suppose." Snape said apathetically.

Inside, Padma was smiling. Snape must've really been pleased with the job if he had to lie through his teeth like that.

"Although, I do not appreciate the fingerprint smudges on my potion bottles."

George rolled his eyes, which, much to Padma's relief, Snape ignored. She supposed he had to have _something_ to gripe about.

"And I am also quite glad that when I entered this room you two were not scandalously positioned."

Padma felt her face getting hot but George merely scowled at Snape. Snape raised his eyebrow and continued,

"Furthermore, it will be a great relief to myself to not have to deal with both of you in detention any longer."

Padma and George weren't the least bit annoyed with that remark, since they too, were greatly relieved as well. Having to put up with the grueling detention periods would definitely not be missed.

"That is all I suppose, but I trust you two will not get yourselves into trouble like this again...well, I trust Patil at least."

George grimaced very unpleasantly at Snape, who apparently couldn't deal with his disgruntled attitude any longer.

"If you keep contorting your face into foul expressions like that Mr. Weasley," murmured Snape in an intimidating tone, "it might just get _stuck _that way."

Flaring his black robes behind him, Snape exited the closet, leaving an air of dark arrogance. Once he was sure he was gone, George proceeded to do fairly good imitation of the Professor.

"_It might just get stuck that way_," mocked George, "who the bloody hell does he think he is?"

Padma smiled, "Well, he is a teacher..."

"So what? You know, someday I might just smack him..." said George, emphasizing his words with a fist up in the air.

"Calm down now," said Padma, "he's gone, and hopefully we won't have to do anything like this for him ever again."

"Yeah..." agreed George, anger still pulsating through him, "_hopefully._ Just wish the bloke would show some appreciation for our hard work."

"It was sort of our fault in the first place, George."

"Oh yeah..." said George a little sheepishly, "but still!"

Padma laughed, "Come on now. It's Saturday! I'm sure we don't want to be staying in this stuffy potions closet all day long."

George's chagrined face turned into a more cheerful one as he heard those words. He nodded in happy agreement as both of them left the closet, Jimmy in Padma's arms As they walked side by side in the hallway, George put a hand on Padma's shoulder. She gave him a surprised look.

"And you were wrong." he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

"It wasn't our fault," he replied, "it was _my_ fault."

She looked at him embarrassedly, "Oh George, you don't need to—"

"I dragged you into this. I'm sorry."

"You already apologized, George."

"Yeah I know," he said, "but I'm doing it _better_ this time."

"Oh well then maybe I should—"

"No, I already know you can't help acting like a raving lunatic sometimes."

"Hey!" huffed Padma, Jimmy snarled at the sound of her raised voice, he was trying to get some sleep after all. George grinned. Padma punched him in the arm.

"Ow! What is _wrong _with you woman?"

"What's wrong with _you_?!"

"Various things..."

"Oh, I'm sure."

"...but not nearly as many as you!"

"Ugh, you are _so_ annoying!"

George chuckled as her face got redder. He never did get tired of teasing her. He supposed it had been unwise to crack a joke at her when they were getting along so great, but he really couldn't help it. Besides, the look on Padma's face was absolutely priceless every time.

"Same to you love, same to you."

Padma yelled, "I should put Jimmy on you!"

"After going through your rage, he'd be a breeze!"

"ARGH!"

Their little one-sided argument echoed through the halls as they both walked together through Hogwarts, side-by-side.


	11. A Green Eyed Monster

A Green Eyed Monster

George Weasley will never admit that he gets jealous. Padma can tease him about it all she wants but he is just too darn stubborn to admit that he gets possessive just like the rest of them. His pride is too strong for that you see, and Padma would have never known his true feelings if she hadn't said yes to a certain handsome Ravenclaw.

And she jokes about him, and how dashing and charming he is, just to drive George mad.

And it always works.


	12. Chapter 10

Padma was absentmindedly brushing the end of her quill across her cheek. Her mouth was slightly open, and her eyes were glossy with absorbing thought. She sat there, slightly dazed and slightly engrossed with her own muses, while Pavarti watched her curiously. Anything that could put her normally focused sister into a state such as this was worth knowing about.

"Padma?" said Parvati, "What's wrong with you?"

Padma didn't reply. She hadn't really heard her sister at all, actually. Annoyed with this, Parvati shook her twin by the shoulder. Padma's hair was slightly tousled after the violent shaking (the roughness had been needed to snap Padma out of her thoughts and back to reality). She looked at her sister dreamily, which reminded Parvati a lot of that blonde-haired loon in Ravenclaw.

"Yes?" asked Padma abstractly.

"I finished my homework before you." said Parvati.

"Huh? Oh, good for you..." replied Padma, still not fully paying attention. The very empty silence that followed only made Parvati more irritable.

"Maybe you didn't hear me clearly," said Parvati seriously, "I finished my homework _before you_."

"No, no, I heard you the first time..."

Parvati sighed, "You always finish first!"

"Do I?" asked Padma, "I guess I just got decked with a bit more than you today."

"Rubbish," said Parvati, "something's on your mind, and I want to know what!"

Padma frowned. She really disliked it when Parvati got into those, "You _have_ to tell me!" moods. Not only was it unpleasant to deal with her begging Padma to spill personally confidential information, but Padma hated having all the blood rush to her head during the horrid levitation, which, oddly, seemed very unexpected every time. Parvati however, never let up on it, despite her sister's complaints.

"Nothing's on my mind." said Padma very unconvincingly.

"Don't waste your breath coming up with mediocre lies," said Parvati, "just tell me. If you don't, I just might have to draw my wand and..."

There was no need for Parvati to finish that sentence; Padma knew exactly what she was thinking, and though she would rather not share her thoughts with her sister at the moment, she rather _did_ like having her feet stuck firmly to ground.

"Okay," said Padma, "I'll tell you."

Parvati looked anxiously at her sister, who didn't look like she was in any hurry to spill her thoughts.

"Well..?" asked Parvati impatiently. Padma chewed on her lip and shuffled her feet together as Parvati watched her with an eager eye.

"It's a boy..." Padma said, blushing.

"And...?"

"He..."

"_Yes? _" asked Parvati, even more restless than before. If Padma didn't tell her soon, she would levitate her regardless of any protest.

"He...asked me out." finished Padma.

"Now we're getting somewhere!" said Parvati, "So what's his name?"

The light shade of pink on Padma's cheeks had turned into a very bright shade of crimson.

"His name is..."

"Yes?"

"His name is..."

"_Yes?_"

"Roger..."

"No, Padma...you don't mean..."

"Davies."

A very pregnant silence fell over the two. Parvati stared at Padma expressionlessly and Padma was back to chewing her lip and shuffling her feet. Around them, the wind howled a little dramatically making the situation even more awkward than it already was.

"EEEEEK!!!!"

Parvati's shrill squeal seemed to shake the whole school-grounds. Padma jumped at the sound, and Dumbledore looked up in his study, alarmed by a sudden disturbance. On the Quidditch Pitch, Chasers swerved on their brooms and crashed into trees, and Snape's delicate balance of ingredients for his extremely dangerous potion blew up in his face. The noise frightened many small animals, and Padma watched as frogs and other creatures scampered away quickly.

"Was _that_ really necessary?" asked Padma.

Parvati didn't answer her question. Instead, she went right along with her own barrage of inquisitions.

"When?! Where?! What were you doing?! Where is he taking you?! Oh Padma, I can't believe you waited till now to tell me! We have to arrange your outfit, your makeup, everything! Oh, what should you wear? How should I do your hair? What—"

"_This_ is why I didn't want to tell you." said Padma, massaging her temples, "But to answer your questions: yesterday, in the library, I was studying, Hogsmeade, I don't know, I don't know, and I don't know."

Parvati looked like she was ready to babble on again when she gave Padma a befuddled look.

"Wait, erm...could you repeat that?"

"NO!"

"Gosh...fine..." said Parvati.

As both twins walked back to the castle, there was no end to Parvati's mind-numbing chattering. Padma's eye-twitched with every question, statement, and suggestion that flew rapidly out of Parvati's quick-moving mouth. She was just still so amazed with the fact that the charming Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain had asked her sister out on an actual _date_.

"Well, we are in the same house." said Padma.

"What does that have to do with anything? I've dated guys outside of my house."

"Well, maybe it's easier to ask someone in your own. You know them better anyway."

"What does Roger know about _you?_"

"Um...he knows...he knows that...well actually I think this is the first time he's even talked to me..."

"Exactly!"

"Well maybe he just wants to get to know me better!"

"Maybe...but it doesn't matter _why_ he asked you actually, all that matters is that he _did_ ask you. And you're going on a date with him! I can't believe it! We have a lot of preparation to do!"

"Spectacular..." mutter Padma.

"When is your date?"

"Tomorrow."

"_Tomorrow?!_"

Parvati was looking at Padma, flabbergasted at what she had just said.

"What?" asked Padma, looking at her sister's astounded expression.

"Your date is tomorrow and you haven't even thought of what you're going to wear? How do you pass any of your tests with these poor preparation skills?!"

"Things like this don't really matter Parv—"

"_Don't matter?!_" repeated Parvati, "_Don't matter?!_ _DON'T MATTER?! _How can you say that?! This matters an enormous deal!"

"But I—" Parvati didn't give Padma a chance to finish, because she grabbed her sister's hand and dragged her straight to the great hall. Once inside, Parvati started scanning the area. Watching her eagle eyes scrutinizing every face of every student in there made Padma worry about what was to happen next.

"Aha!" said Parvati, "There they are!"

Parvati again yanked Padma over to the Ravenclaw table. She presented her to two familiar-looking girls. They looked at her oddly. Parvati explained the situation, not caring whether Padma was embarrassed or not...which she was.

"I need you to help my sister," said Parvati, "she has a date tomorrow, and she needs a makeover!"

"Oh?" said one of them, "A date with who?"

There was a sparkle of pride in Parvati's eyes as she said, "Roger Davies."

Both girls gasped. Padma felt the need to roll her eyes at their stunned expressions. She knew Parvati wanted to help, but wasn't this taking it a little too far?

"Yes, I know," said Parvati proudly, "anyway, I can't give Padma the makeover because she's not in Gryffindor; you'll have to do it for me, but I know you'll do a great job—I mean you are experts. So, you think you're up to it?"

Padma gulped at the devious smiles that crossed their faces.

"You can count on us." said Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe in unison.


	13. Chapter 11

George blew hot air onto the palms of his hands and rubbed them together. He was bundled up quite snugly yet his teeth were still chattering like crazy. He wasn't exactly sure what he and his brother were doing out here at night with their little sister and her friend when they could be inside by the warm, crackling fire, thinking up new pranks or inventions.

It was a chilly October night and they were walking around on the school grounds looking for some absurd, non-existent creature this blonde-headed kook was going on about. George wasn't really listening, neither was Fred, and there was a pretty slim chance that Ginny was listening either.

"And if you listen really closely, you can almost here the faint call of the Pelophaguss! Isn't it fascinating?"

"Mhm." said Ginny, looking uninterestedly at the stars above. Fred didn't bother to hold back his yawn. George was actually getting pretty frustrated with the whole thing. He made sure Loony was prancing a good five or ten feet away from them before he started ranting at his youngest sibling.

"Ginny!" he whispered sharply at his sister, "Why are _we_ out here? She's your friend!"

"Well you can't have two fourth-years out on the school grounds on a night like this can you?" Ginny shot back, "And you're family!"

"Couldn't you have asked Ron?" asked Fred.

"He's busy with Harry and Hermione."

"Or probably _just_ Hermione...if you know what I mean...know what I mean Forge?"

"Oh I know what you mean, Gred..."

Both boys snickered immaturely and Ginny groaned.

"Have I ever told you that you're _not_ funny?"

"Oh shut it," said Fred, "at least we add some liveliness around here. It's not very entertaining when you're out searching for a Petalpuss or whatever rubbish that crazy friend of yours is talking about."

"She's _not_ crazy! And not so loud, she might—"

"Hear you?" All three Weasleys jumped as Luna popped up in-between Fred and George. She was smiling an odd smile, the kind she usually wore, except there was a sort of glazed sadness in her eye.

"Luna!" breathed Ginny, "You nearly gave us a heart attack!"

"Sorry," said Luna, "it's just that I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. And it's called a _Pelophaguss_ by the way."

"Well whatever. It doesn't even exist. It's a myth." stated Fred.

"That's not true!" yelled Luna indignantly.

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't!"

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't!"

"Is."

"Isn't!"

"Is."

"ISN'T!"

As Fred and Luna continued their juvenile argument, Ginny started up a conversation with George.

"So, you get through Snape's punishment all right?" she asked her brother.

"Yeah," said George, "I thought the closet looked pretty good after we were done with it."

"You get along with Padma okay then?"

"I guess in the end..." said George, thinking back to the whole experience.

"IS! IT IS TRUE AND YOU KNOW—"

"Padma?" Luna cut Fred off in mid-sentence, no-longer interested in their dispute, "Padma? Hm..."

Ginny and George both looked at the her oddly. Fred wasn't really sure what had just happened and was a tad bit disappointed she hadn't let him finish; he had been on a roll...

"Padma..." said Luna, still in deep thought, "Padma...hm..."

"What's she talking about?" George whispered to Ginny. She shrugged.

"I heard something about a Padma..." said Luna, contemplating something in her head, "yes...wait no...yes...Yes! Yes that's it!"

"What's it?" asked Fred.

"Padma...Padma Patil and Roger Davies! Roger Davies and Padma Patil are going on a date tomorrow!"

Ginny and Fred exchanged glances, but George looked like he had just hit the ceiling. Something in his gut felt like it had just exploded.

"_What?_" he asked, "Who'd you hear that from?"

"Her sister actually," replied Luna, "we were in the great hall and the Patil twins came over to the Ravenclaw table. Pavarti said Padma was going on a date with Roger Davies...she was talking to Cho and Marietta about giving her a makeover. It sounded a little exciting."

"What's it to you mate?" asked Fred, "It doesn't seem like it would matter."

George looked at him and paused for a second. His brother was right...it didn't matter. Did it? No, it didn't. He was pretty sure...well, sort of.

Finally, George nodded hesitantly in agreement.

"I thought Padma seemed pretty happy about it," said Luna, "after all, even I have to admit that Roger Davies is quite a catch. He's a year older than her too. For him to ask a fifth year out it really something, don't you think?"

"Eh, I don't think he's that great..." said Fred, "I'd be a ten-times better Quidditch Captain than him."

"Really?" asked Luna distantly, "Because I don't think that you could handle a whole Quidditch team if you can't even handle your own bat..."

"_What?!_" asked Fred furiously. Luna skipped off to inspect something in the distance and Fred chased after her, not really sure what he was going to when he caught her, but sure he was going to make her pay for her words somehow.

Ginny was giving George a funny look. He glared at her.

"What are you staring at?" he snapped.

"Oh nothing..." said Ginny, a small bit of amusement in her voice.

George knew exactly what she was thinking, but did not dare mentally admit it. She gave him a small smile and walked off towards Luna and Fred (of whom still hadn't caught the illusive blonde). George didn't follow; he stood there alone with his own thoughts.

Well, so what if Padma was going out with that Davies guy? Good for her, right? I mean she hardly seems like she goes on many dates; it's nice to see her getting out more, right? Yeah, that's it. Maybe George was just a little surprised to hear that quiet, stick to solid-studies and not bed-buddies Padma Patil had been asked out by the most popular guy in Ravenclaw house. It was quite shocking after all. Who would expect something like that? That's exactly what he was feeling. There was nothing to worry about; he would just move on.

George walked over to Fred, Ginny and Luna (who was currently being tickled mercilessly by his brother). He went and stood next to his sister, who turned around and asked,

"George, why are your ears pink?"


	14. Chapter 12

"It's ugly." said Padma flatly. She stared at herself unhappily in the mirror. Cho and Marietta frowned in frustration, though Padma didn't notice. She was far too busy wiping the makeup off her face, which in her opinion, made her look like some terrible, over-rouged ghoul. Cho clicked her tongue and rapped her fingers on the counter and Marietta proceeded to lecture Padma for what seemed to be the millionth time.

"We've done your makeup over and over again, Padma. When are you going to be satisfied?"

"I don't know..." said Padma dully, "maybe when you fix me something I'll actually like."

Marietta's cheeks went red with fury and Cho cut in before her friend continued with some ill intentioned action.

"Well," she stated calmly, "what _would_ you like?"

Padma curled a strand of hair around her finger and looked expressionlessly at the ground. Cho tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for Padma's answer. Padma was contemplating her question seriously though, and wasn't really sure what kind of makeup job she wanted. It couldn't be anything like what she had tried on so far—she couldn't go to Roger looking like a clown.

Funny, Padma thought, Marietta and Cho both insisted that they wore the exact same kinds of makeup jobs that Padma had previously sampled, yet they didn't look anything like they had just broke out of a circus.

Padma was starting to think that she wasn't really suited for femininity or cosmetics and was ready to forget this whole thing when Cho spoke edgily,

"_Well?_"

Padma looked at her reflection, "Um...well..."

"Ugh!" cried Marietta, "Why don't we just blow this whole thing, Cho?"

Cho shushed her friend and waited expectantly for Padma's answer.

"Can you give me something..." started Padma, "mild...?"

"_Mild?_" repeated Marietta, "What's she talking about, Cho?"

Cho did not answer. She seemed to be in deep thought while at the same time examining Padma's face. Padma stared at the bottles and tubes of makeup on the counter so to avoid her steely gaze.

Finally, Cho spoke coolly.

"Yes," she said, "I think we can fix that..."

Marietta was looking clueless, and Padma was looking a little nervous. What exactly was Ms. Chang going to do to her? She watched Cho whisper into Marietta's ear, who smiled approvingly. Padma's heart sped up a few counts as they both closed in on her.

Padma knew it had only been minutes, but somehow her mind had morphed that small amount of time into several hours, which dragged by sluggishly. During this span, Padma had sat uncomfortably in her chair, brushes and other things dancing about her face, things being pricked and pulled here and there, and some sort of concoction rubbing across her lips, cheeks, and eyelids.

After a few more minutes (or hours), Cho and Marietta drew back looking at their work admiringly. Padma couldn't decide what kind of face to put on—whether to be scared of what she was going to see once she was handed the mirror, or relieved that the whole thing was finally over.

"Well then," said Padma, a slight bit of eagerness in her tone, "how is it?"

Cho smirked and handed her the mirror, "See for yourself."

Padma gulped as she took the mirror in her grasp and resisted the urge to close her eyes in fear. When she gazed into the glossy glass, she was stunned.

What on earth had they done to her...

...to make her look so good!

Her heart almost stopped in her chest as she looked at her gorgeous reflection.

Her dark skin tone had been evened out so deliciously. Her complexion was smooth like caramel, and the apples of her cheeks held a faint peachy-rose color, almost like a ghost since it was barely there, but noticeable enough to flow along with the rest of her face. The simple black mascara they had used had done wonders, as her fair-length lashes elegantly framed her eyes. The light reddish-orange eye shadow they had used added lovely color to her face, though it wasn't even very strong. Her lips were a maroon color that Padma absolutely adored.

Yes, Padma thought admittedly, Cho and Marietta had given her exactly what she had wanted.

Everything about the makeup was mild, but it was enough to make her look beautiful.

Marietta asked abruptly, "So what? Do you like it or not?"

Padma shakily set the mirror down and looked up at the both of them.

"I love it." she breathed.

Cho smirked, "I knew we would find something that suited you. Just leave it to my astounded genius and you'll come out looking fabulous every time."

"I helped too, you know." mumbled Marietta.

"Well, it was under my guidance..."

Padma smiled at them. All her thoughts of not being fit for makeup she had had before were easily eradicated. She looked so amazing and not remotely like a clown! Cho and Marietta had made everything look so natural, and Padma not-so-modestly compared herself to an Indian princess.

"I can't thank you enough." said Padma gratefully.

"Uh huh..." grumbled Marietta callously.

Cho smiled warmly, "Don't mention it."

Without thinking, Padma sprang up from her seat and hugged the both of them. It was awkward because Cho was returning the hug and at the same time Marietta was pushing Padma away. She didn't mind it though. She really was sincerely thankful to the both of them. She had never really felt beautiful that much in her life and to feel it at that moment definitely felt good.

She broke away and looked at them happily.

"Well thanks again," she said, "I guess I should get going—"

As Padma reached for the door, Cho grabbed her wrist.

"What do you mean you're going?" she asked, "Your date doesn't start for another hour."

"Yes but punctuality is a good quality to—"

"And besides," said Marietta deviously, "we haven't even gotten started on your _clothes_."


	15. Chapter 13

"Really?" breathed a curly-haired blonde girl with big eyes, "Your sister's really going out with _him?_"

Parvati nodded proudly. In the past few minutes, the whole female Gryffindor population had found out about Padma's date with the suave Roger Davies, and they were hanging on her every word. Parvati had been ordered by her sister to not brag about it, but really, when did she ever listen to what her sister told her to do anyway? Besides, this was _much_ more fun.

"I don't believe you," said another girl with straight, black hair and large glasses, "no way Roger Davies would go out with Padma. She's too—"

"Too _what?_" asked Parvati dangerously. She glared venomously at the girl and she backed down and shied away. Parvati knew Padma going out with Roger was a hard concept to grasp, but no way was this girl going to say anything bad about her sister—that was just something she would not tolerate.

"How do you know for sure?" asked a plump little second year girl.

Parvati rolled her eyes, "Well the fact that she's my _sister_ might have helped just a teeny bit."

The little girl went red in the face and nodded. Just as some tall fourth year girl was about to ask another question, Parvati saw someone emerge through the thick throng of people crowding around her.

"So it really is true then?" asked Angelina Johnson, "Your sister really is going out with Davies?"

A disgruntled voice rang out beside her, "And why should that matter to you, Angie?"

Angelina blushed embarrassedly as Fred's freckled face wedged itself between two other girls. Parvati smirked.

"Yes it is one-hundred percent true Angelina, though I trust the whole thing means nothing to you, as you're already very happy with Freddie-poo over there." Pavarti motioned to Angelina's squished boyfriend, "Having a bit of trouble breathing?"

"I'm fine, thanks." grumbled Fred unhappily.

"Look, I'm not going to hide it," admitted Angelina, "Davies is pretty nice to look at, plus he's a great Quidditch player, and I can't say I don't find _that_ attractive."

"Um, hello?" said Fred, "Number one beater for Gryffindor right here!"

"Number two, actually." came another voice, belonging to a face identical to Fred's. George's head popped up beside his brother's, sporting a very cocky grin. Parvati raised her eyebrow.

"Well, well," she drawled, "and how is George Weasley taking this?"

George replied touchily, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it states," replied Parvati simply, "how are you taking it?"

"Taking what?" said George evasively.

"Oh don't be stupid," retorted Parvati, "it's really painfully obvious that you're uncomfortable with it."

"Uncomfortable with _what?_"

"Please, don't make me spell it out." groaned Parvati. George sighed.

"Fine..."

"Yes?" asked Parvati, "How are you taking it?"

George shrugged awkwardly. He was getting a bit nervous, as his brother's and his girlfriend's eyes were on him, anxiously waiting for his reply, along with the rest of the Gryffindor girls.

"How am I supposed to take it? She's going out with Davies. Good for her." said George simply. Parvati remarked cattishly,

"Oh really? I would think that you'd sit uneasy with the whole thing."

"And why is that?" asked George.

"Well, for one thing every time the subject of my sister comes up, your ears turn pink."

George embarrassedly put his hands to his ears, "It happens when I get cold..."

"Sure thing, Weasley," said Parvati with a wink, "now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll be going. It's a wonderful day, and I think a trip to Hogsmeade sounds fitting..."

As Parvati sauntered out of the Gryffindor common room, the rest of the girls trailed behind her, wanting her to expand on what she had just told them. Unwilling to admit it, George felt just as curious as they did. At this moment, Padma was getting ready, or even already on, a date with Roger Davies and he was feeling things he wasn't quite sure of. Was he jealous? No, of course not...but there was no hiding that he was interested.

"Hellooo...?" A pale hand was waving in front of George's eyes. He snapped out of his thoughts and met his brother's gaze.

"What?" he asked.

"Just making sure you were still with us, mate." said Fred.

George batted his twin's hand away, "Yeah, I'm still here."

"Good," said Angelina, "because we're making a trip to the Three Broomsticks."

"What? Why?" whined George.

"And why not?" asked Fred, "Like Parvati said, it's a wonderful day. We should do something."

"Eh," said George looking at the floor, "I think I'll just stick around here...you know, catch up on studying n' stuff."

Angelina looked comically flabbergasted and Fred could only snort with laughter.

"You're...you're kidding right?" chuckled Fred much to George's annoyance.

"Why? Does it seem odd that I actually _care_ about my grades?"

"Yes." said Angelina. George scowled.

"Well for your information," he lectured, "I have a bit of Potions Extra Credit that I was going to do today."

"Oh really?" asked Fred skeptically, "I don't think I remember Snape giving out extra credit..."

"Well he did, so good day to you!" George huffed and turned around swiftly, stomping up to his dorm. He could say that Padma's ways had rubbed off on him a little. Behind him, he heard Angelina say,

"What's his problem?"

Fred snickered, "Puppy love."


End file.
